Ellen Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman to travel in space. On April 8, 1988, she embarked on a nine-day mission on the Discovery space shuttle.
Ochoa was born on May 10, 1958 in Los Angeles, Calif. Her Hispanic roots came from her father, as her grandparents immigrated from Mexico. She graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in physics, then went on to graduate at Stanford University for electrical engineering.
After building an impressive resume, she applied to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to enter the highly competitive astronaut program. She was launched into space on the Discovery space shuttle on April 8, 1988. During her many adventures in space, she actually played her flute, and she ended her career with over 1,000 logged hours in space. She then became the Johnson’s Space Center’s (JSP) first Hispanic director. In an interview with Adler Planetarium she encourages underrepresented groups to get into STEM and is living proof that you can do anything no matter what.
— Elly Herrick, Editor-in-Chief